A 21-year-old Hazleton man pleaded guilty Monday to receiving and distributing child pornography, according to U.S. Attorney Peter J. Smith.

Rafael Polonia, who appeared Monday before U.S. District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani, admitted that he used a computer to download and share child pornography videos in January 2012, a press release from Smith's office states.

A plea agreement filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania includes a proposed sentence of 96 to 132 months in prison, followed by a life term of supervised release. The agreement must be accepted by Mariani before it becomes final.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa is prosecuting the case.

Polonia was originally charged and arraigned on 10 counts of child pornography in January by the Pennsylvania State Police and Luzerne County detectives. By February the number of counts against him jumped to 404 after officers continued their investigation into a computer seized from his former home at 317 E. Mine St., Hazleton.

At his January arraignment before Magisterial District Judge Joseph Zola in Hazleton on the original charges, Polonia had to be subdued by police, including Hazleton police who were called to assist in a disturbance at Zola's office. Polonia refused to leave district court and began banging his head off a handrail in the courtroom.

The local charges Polonia faced were later withdrawn after he was charged federally.

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